With age a large portion of the population develops arterial obstructions formed by fats, fibrous material and calcified deposits, resulting in diminished blood supply to the heart, brain and other organs. Presently such obstructions are circumvented surgicly by providing a bypass or they are treated with a catheter equipped with a balloon which is inserted into the obstruction area through the arterial system and then inflated to expand the lumen through the obstruction. A problem with the balloon catheter is that it may burst the artery and in certain cases it is ineffective. Further, it does not remove the obstruction material out of the arterial system.
The object of the present invention is to provide a rotary catheter, equipped with a tubular-blade rotatably attached to its front end and driven by a flexible-shaft connected to the wall of the tubular-blade, that would cut and extract the obstruction material. This and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the foregoing discussion and the accompanying drawings.